Green Hair algae eaters!!!!!

Discussion in 'Algae' started by ceazer00, Jul 22, 2009.

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  1. zjpeter

    zjpeter Ritteri Anemone

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2009
    Messages:
    609
    Location:
    Iowa
    i just beat the stuff about a month ago and i learned quite a bit. if you have rapidly reproducing algae, your water is not fine. chances are, the algae is using the phosphates and nitrates up as they are produced so your tests will read zero, leading to the "perfect water." you can buy all the bio-fixes you want, but until you find the source you will always be fighting an uphill battle. phosphates can get into your system through anything from tap water to the foods you're using. find a good RO/DI source and switch out your filter media. i ran a 50/50 of carbon and GFO. also, old lights can be a culprit as well. it sucks to spend a fortune on new bulbs, but it can save a headache. after your sources are in check grab a solid CUC, my asterea's and crabs weren't touching the stuff so i bought two mexican turbo snails for a 50 gallon with 80+ lbs of live rock and the stuff was gone in under a week.

    some people have had luck with the manual removal of pulling and pinching it out, but i opted out of that because 1) i feel that this just spreads the spores/seeds around and facilitates more growth and 2) i'm just too lazy to spend my afternoon pinching seaweed.

    any algae is an eye sore. good luck and try not to stress too much, bro. this is a hobby that just takes time before you get it right. luckily you're in the right place, these guys know their stuff!
     
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  3. LVsuckerfish

    LVsuckerfish Fire Shrimp

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2009
    Messages:
    322
    Location:
    Las vegas

    I agree 100% as I had an out break when I added clams to my tank I knew they need ca but didn't think they need that much. Lesson learned real fast...... still tring to rid it all only have one rock with it on there
     
  4. ceazer00

    ceazer00 Plankton

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2008
    Messages:
    23
    Location:
    San Antonio
    Thanks for all of the info! If got a 34 gallon W/2 green chromis, 1 clarki clown, and I just added a fire fish. No fish is longer than 2 inches. I've also got a yellow serpant star, and a clean up crew: snails, red/blue leg and some red clawed hermits. 1 sea hare!

    the tank is a red sea max... 2 10,000K/Actinic 50/50's for lights. I've had those bulbs for about 8 months now and I thought I had 4 months left. I use RO water from the Wal Mart water mill.

    I feed only a few times a week...frozen brine, one cube per feeding and all of the shrimp are gone within just a few minutes! I just replaced my carbon. Any other help would be great!

    PS. Also add a torch, flower pot, kenya tree, a frag of pods and a colony of christmas tree worms.
     
  5. ceazer00

    ceazer00 Plankton

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2008
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    23
    Location:
    San Antonio
    LEt me add to the above statement... This has been going on for several months, about five. When it started, I was using tap, running the lights all day, feeding too much ( I think). Since then, I've changed my water, cut back to 8 hours of light, and reduced feeding. With no results mind you. What's next... help????????
     
  6. troythegreat

    troythegreat Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2009
    Messages:
    72
    another solution: you can just grow more algae......build a refugium or an ATS scrubber....i have an ATS and i don't have any algae problems....
     
  7. Bunner

    Bunner Bubble Tip Anemone

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2008
    Messages:
    684
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I have always had small patches on GHA in my tank. It has never gone past those patches. I have seen my tuxedo urchin and conches eat it. SOME algea is natural...
     
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  9. Fujin

    Fujin Feather Duster

    Joined:
    May 28, 2009
    Messages:
    228
    Location:
    Dresden,OH
    My Chocolate Chip Starfish DESTROYS the stuff...but it also destorys anything else that moves too slowly....
     
  10. tronb24

    tronb24 Coral Banded Shrimp

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2008
    Messages:
    368
    Location:
    Largo, FL
    This stuff is quite irritating. I've never had it until about 2 months ago. I have 3 fish (o. clown, royal gramma, 6line) in a 29g and here's what I've tried; feeding rinsed frozen once/week, bulbs are 7 months old, reduced lighting to 6 hrs/day, running GAC, running GFO, weekly 18% water changes, mexican turbos, blue legged hermits and I still have GHA. I was told by my LFS blue legged hermits will mow through this stuff. They seem to spend a little bit of time in the HA, but in observations it doesn't appear that they eat the algae but rather they are picking through the algae eating the trapped detritus.

    The snails seem to eat other algae off the rocks, but don't touch the longer strands of this stuff. I'm trying halimeda in the display (don't have a fuge) and thinking about a sea hare.
     
  11. Bunner

    Bunner Bubble Tip Anemone

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2008
    Messages:
    684
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    yaaa.... i have 10 of them in my tank and they wont even touch the stuff.
     
  12. jptrson

    jptrson Feather Duster

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    Messages:
    213
    Location:
    Redmond, Or
    Rinse your brine through a fine net before adding. try melting a cube in a cup of water, then add a rinsed cube in a cup. All that cloudiness is going to your phosphates and nitrates.